OTTAWA – Parliament will reconvene Saturday afternoon to pass the government’s wage subsidy legislation, but negotiations are still ongoing on whether the bill will pass with the unanimous consent it needs for the money to start flowing.

Both the Liberal and Conservative sources indicate the government is close to a deal with the opposition parties, but there are some sticking points. The Liberals decided to call Parliament back regardless, because they don’t want the legislative authority to be a roadblock in sending the money to employers.

When the Liberals announced the program on March 27, they said it would take three to six weeks for businesses to see cheques and the government is concerned delays passing the bill could prevent them from meeting their more ambitious timeline.

The last time the House sat on March 24, extra provisions in the legislation that would have given the government sweeping powers to raise taxes and spend without restraint caused a revolt by opposition parties.

That led to lengthy negotiations removing those provisions and adding more oversight, but it meant Parliament sat into the wee hours of the morning to pass the bill. This time the bill is not the issue, but rather how Parliament will work going forward.

The Liberals want to convene a virtual Parliament, using video or audio conference technology, while the Conservatives prefer a blend that would still see the House of Commons convening in person, but with a reduced number of MPs.

It will still have to sit in person on Saturday until the rules are changed, but there will be a reduced number of MPs.

To pass the new wage subsidy bill, the Liberals need unanimous consent of the House or they will have to take days to run it through the normal legislative process. Getting that unanimous consent will require the Liberals to agree to other issues including how often the House will sit going forward.

The Liberals’ first piece of emergency legislation had a wage subsidy, but it was much more restrictive on the types of businesses and covered only 10 per cent of an employee’s wages, not the 75 per cent the government now proposes.

We are supportive of the idea of virtual sessions in addition to in-person sessions

Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer said catching problems like that is the role of Parliament and it’s a necessity to write good legislation.

“When there is no debate, no discussion, and no opportunity for regular accountability or questions from the opposition it makes it that much harder to perfect legislation,” he said. “You get better results when you have a second set of eyes go over the legislation.”

Scheer was proposing that Parliament meet up to four days a week and said virtual sittings are no replacement for the House of Commons.

“We are supportive of the idea of virtual sessions in addition to in person sessions,” he said. “We believe this can be an additional tool to help Parliament play its role.”

Scheer said Liberal ministers are meeting regularly with reporters and there is no reason they can’t also face Parliament.

“We believe it’s entirely important that the House of Commons be put on that same level.”

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau addresses Canadians on the COVID-19 pandemic from Rideau Cottage in Ottawa on April 2, 2020.Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said they prefer virtual sittings, because it means not only MPs, but also the clerks, security guards and other staff can stay home as well.

“We’ve put forward some proposals around things we think could work to both minimize the risks to Canadians while moving towards a virtual Parliament and ensuring the debate and accountability that is so important in our democracy,” he said Thursday. “We hope that the official Opposition will choose to realize that we need to pass this legislation quickly to get the help out to Canadians as quickly as possible.”

Though the House of Commons doesn’t fall under provincial law, the province of Ontario in which it sits, currently bans gatherings of more than five people.

In a letter released Wednesday, Speaker Anthony Rota said the House of Commons’ staff believe they can have a virtual Parliament up and running within four weeks. The House has been holding committee meetings through video and audio conferencing technology, but there have been a number of technical issues.

Perrin Beatty, president and CEO of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, said he was relieved the legislation would pass soon.

“I am hopeful that it will go quickly and it will receive unanimous agreement from Parliament.”

Now the issue is execution

He said businesses want the wage subsidy as quickly as possible and are already dealing with a substantial delay. He said most businesses only have so much cash on hand to deal with a crisis and the longer they wait the worse the outcome.

“We could see tens of thousands more small businesses shutting down and not reopening,” he said.

Beatty said assuming Parliament passes the legislation swiftly, the government has to step up its efforts to get the money out the door.

“Now the issue is execution, can the machinery of government actually get the money to people.”

The Senate has also been recalled to begin sitting at 4 p.m. Saturday, which would mean the bill could be in front of the Governor General by Saturday evening.

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